The glocal regulator

The world’s major securities regulators began an annual conference in Mumbai on Monday. The proceedings of the first few days will be conducted behind closed doors.

The three big issues that they are likely to discuss are global in nature, namely, the regulation of hedge funds, accounting standards and the complexities of regulating trading activity on new transnational exchanges.

Even as recently as five years ago, these issues were unlikely to have kept Indian regulators awake. But each is important today. Hedge funds account for perhaps half the new money coming into the Indian stock market.

Indian companies are going global and so have to follow more stringent accounting norms. And foreign bourses now own stakes in both BSE and NSE. The Indian securities market is globalizing very fast.

Sebi, too, will have to adjust to this new era—by working with other regulators rather than in splendid isolation. And it will.